Confrontation
by obsessed thoughts
Summary: What if Darcy had confronted Elizabeth earlier, at the ball at Netherfield? How would she have reacted? Set after the dance between the two of them.


Boiling with rage, she could not help but to hate him for making her lose her control like this. When she turned her back to the dark man she loathed him for his embroidered pride. What right did he have to make such assumptions and just utter it out without warning? She could not even be sure of what he had been indicating or why she reacted as she did. She bitterly regretted she had ever accepted to dance with him.

She made her way through the crowded room, not taking any notice of the people around her or the feelings she most have worn on her face, clear for everyone to see. She needed air if she ever was going to make it through the evening without losing control fully.

The garden was empty and soon Elizabeth was beneath the trees, undiscovered and hidden from unwelcomed eyes. With a sigh she closed her own and leant against nearest tree. She tried to calm her roaring feelings with a deep breath of the chilly air, but could not make herself forget the conversation she and Mr. Darcy had had during the dance. Oh, how she despised that man.

The sudden appearance of footsteps startled her and she opened her eyes, only to discover to whom they belonged.

"I have to apologize if you were offended by what I said earlier, miss Bennet. It was never my intention."

"Not your intention? I have to admit that is very hard for me to believe!" Damn him, why had he come? Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I have to beg for your forgiveness, sir. I am not myself this evening."

With and surprisingly bitter tone Mr. Darcy answered:

"Longing for other company than there is to find at Netherfield today, I presume. The company of a certain Wickham maybe?" The irritation in his eyes could not be misunderstood.

"You have to forgive me, sir, once again, but I cannot see how that could be any of your business. " The anger she felt vibrated through her words, and she had to clench her fists preventing herself from saying something she would have to regret.

"None of my business?", he replied. "What if, Miss Bennet, I see it as my duty to reveal to you the true character of Mr. Wickham?"

"The true character?", returned Elizabeth, hearing her own voice raise. "If you're about to reveal someone's true character, maybe you should start with your own, Mr. Darcy."

"And what do you mean by that? I have by no means concealed the truth of my being, nor tried to deceive anyone by lies and embroidered realities. I am who I am, and have no intention of excusing myself!"

"So that is something you accuse Mr. Wickham of? That he has deceived this entire town with lies? If you think I will believe that, Mr. Darcy, you are completely and utterly wrong!"

Without noticing it, Elizabeth had drawn nearer to Mr. Darcy, and ceased when she suddenly realized their faces were barely inches apart. And without giving her any time to react, Darcy took a firm grip of her chin with both of his hands, and pressed his lips against hers.

Absolutely taken aback by his action she managed to push him away. With the intention of leaving Elizabeth turned around, but Darcy was faster. With a grip of her arm he pulled her back and once again forced her lips to meet his. And with a sudden burst of unknown feelings Elizabeth took a grip of his shirt and met the kiss with a passion she never would have known to possess.

Several moments later they broke apart. They were breathing hard and meeting each other's gazes over the gap between them with such darkened fury and passion that the air seemed to tremble. Slowly Elizabeth's thoughts started to make sense to her again, and embarrassed by her reaction she could feel her face change color to a darker red.

"I… I do not know what you are planning with this, Mr. Darcy, but I have to tell you I am not a woman to be played with."

"And I have no intention of play with you, or your feelings, Elizabeth. You are a foolish woman not to see the feelings I hold for you."

Not even the fact that he had called her by her Christian name could reduce the shock she felt at this statement, and for once she was speechless. Everything around them suddenly was too quiet to be real and their breathing seemed to echo through the silence. At last it was Elizabeth who spoke:

"You have ever since I first met you appeared indifferent to me, at times even rude. With your pride you have raised yourself above us others and made it perfectly clear that you are too good to give us the privilege to know you. In all this, how do you mean I have been foolish not to have noticed any believed feelings aimed in my direction, Mr. Darcy?"

He seemed to be taken back with this question, and looked confused for a moment.

"Miss Bennet, I have fought against ___my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance, even my own judgment…"_

_"____Your own judgment? Please Mr. Darcy, do not fool yourself in believing this do not offend me. Do you even hear yourself speak? Your pride is above all other I have ever seen or heard of!"_

_"____I did not mean to say it like that, I apologize…"_

_"____Did not mean it?" Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. "And you accuse Mr. Wickham of lying, when you deceive even yourself?"_

_"____Mr. Wickham? I now see you are blinded by his appearance! You are blind, Elizabeth! Do you not see what he is doing?"_

_"____Mr. Darcy! I have had quite enough! You have offended me time after time, and I will not stay in your company a second longer."_

_"____I care about you, Miss Bennet. And I simply do not want to see you hurt."_

_"____On that point you have roughly failed. Everything you have said, everything you have done this evening, has hurt me more then you can ever know. You cannot blame me for not wanting your company anymore."_

___Once again the silence lowered itself between them and Elizabeth noticed the pained expression in Darcy's face, with his forehead wrinkled and the dark brows low over his eyes._

_"____I cannot tell you how sorry I am to have caused you such pain." He said, very low and very slowly. "I cannot tell you how it pains me to know that I have caused you the very same thing I thought I was sparing you from by keeping away from you these past weeks, and coming out to you tonight. I will go now, and leave early tomorrow morning with the most honest hope that your pain will decrease and soon be gone. Good bye, Miss Bennet, and please accept my apology." He turned around to leave._

_"____Wait!" The word was out before she could hinder herself, and when he turned around the hand she had raised fell back to her side. "Please, do not leave…" _

___He gave her a puzzled look, but she did not know how to continue. It had been the single thought of not ever see him again that had filled her chest with such emptiness and pain that she had reacted instinctively. And she needed to know the reason. Three steps forward and she stood so near him she had to let her head fall back to be able to meet his eyes._

_"____Please, tell me the reason why you followed me out here."_

___There was a pause before he answered, and then: _

_"____I don't know. When I saw you walk away I could not help but follow you. My plans of what to say formed during the time it took me to find you. I could not let you be deceived by Wickham. Not you. Not by him. And still… I think I knew all the time it was not the single reason. I have fought in vain these past weeks and I cannot bear it any longer. I love you, Elizabeth. Most truthfully and honest."_

___He cupped his hand under her chin and met her gaze with such a sincere look in his eyes that her trembling ceased and a melting feeling started to spread through her body, calming her every limb. She did not know what to think or what to say, this did not happen. Where had her anger gone? Where was all the hatred she had felt only moments ago? She no longer knew why she had felt it in the first place, and with thousands of different feelings rushing through her being, it was too much. Tears started to run down her cheeks and unable to do anything about it, she tried to look away and get free from his grip. But with a kiss on each cheek Darcy removed her salt tears and made once again her vision clear._

_"____I love you, Elizabeth Bennet. I love you. And even if you do not feel the same, there is nothing I can do to forget my affections for you."_

_"____I do not know what to say to you. I do not even know my own feelings anymore."_

___Darcy silenced her by placing a kiss so tender on her lips she did not dare to prevent it, but instead closed her eyes and gave in to the roaring chaos in her chest. A quiet moan slipped through her lips, and taking it as an approval Darcy pressed his lips harder against hers. And Elizabeth's response surprised even herself. Forcing her fingers through his black curls and closing the final space between their bodies, she could feel her heart beat so hard it felt like it would rip her chest apart. She had never felt so alive, and still so unreal. This could not happen, she thought, but the rest vanished as the passion between them swept away all other feelings. _

___With pounding bodies Darcy pinned Elizabeth to the tree behind her and started trailing kisses down her neck. Hearing her moan he could feel his own desire increase and could not help but clench his teeth together as he buried his face in her soft hair. Smelling the light scent of rosewater on her body he took a deep breath; terminate to imprint it in his memories forever. He had been stupid to think he could resist Elizabeth, that he could ignore the growing love he felt for her. He was hers, and fully hers._

_"____I love you, Elizabeth. With such fierceness I am afraid it will destroy me.", he whispered in her ear, letting his own cheek rest against hers. But when he felt the wet tears that poured down her cheek he moved his head so he could rest his forehead against hers. _

_"____Please confide in me, dearest Elizabeth. Tell me what is wrong and I will do everything in my power to make it right again."_

_"____Please… Do not say such things. The only thing that is wrong is me, and there is nothing in your power to make it right. It is me, and me only, who can solve this."_

_"____But please tell me, and let me decide if there is something I can do. Because I cannot bear seeing you pained."_

_"____I am afraid I will hurt you, and that is the last thing on earth I would wish to do. My feelings are telling me things so different I cannot make any clarity amongst them. My brain says I dislike, almost hate your posture, your pride and your prejudices. But my heart tells me something else. I can feel it beat, stronger than ever, and I know it beats for you. And the rest of my body tells me the same thing, it is burning… longing for your touch. Mr. Darcy."_

_"____William. My name is Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth. And I will wait for you. For my life is useless without you, and my feelings for you will never change. It is as steady as the mountains of the north. As certain as the seasons and as clear to me as your face in front of my eyes at this very moment."_

_"____It is so confusing, my brain saying one thing and my heart saying something which is quite the opposite."_

_"____And I cannot tell you which voice you should listen to, only that I wish that you would follow your heart. I love you Elizabeth and I have already chosen to follow mine."_

_"____I love you too. I think I do. No, I am most certain of it, but what now? What if I wake up tomorrow morning and all this is gone? What if I wake up to find the passion and love has left me as well as the night?"_

_"____The night will come back, Elizabeth, and I will be there waiting for you." _

___Elizabeth was silent for a moment, gazing into the eyes of the man she had thought she so utterly hated. And everything had changed. Those things she had held against him only an hour ago was gone and had made room for something else. She had truly been blind, not to have seen who he really was. She could not understand how she had mistaken her love for this man with loathing and hatred. And so she decided._

_"____And I follow my heart, for my heart has already left me and I cannot live without a heart. It belongs to you, William, and I will not regret this choice. For in the end, it was not a choice at all. I love you; it is as simple as that."_


End file.
